Reviews

The Giver by Lois Lowry

jenny_hedberg's review against another edition

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3.0

Läste boken som en del av ett engelska-projekt och gillade den skarpt. Påminner om boken Candor (Pam Bachorz) som definitivt är värd att läsa om man gillade The Giver.

Boken handlar om 12-årige Jonas som får den hedervärda positionen som mottagare, Receiver. Han är samhällets enda kontakt med det förflutna, tillsammans med givaren, the Giver. De är de enda som kan känna känslor, se färger och minnas något annat än den dystopiska verklighet de lever i.

nix_bookshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

really good!! my 50 year old coworker recommended this to me telling me that this was the only book she read and liked in college! i understand why!! it’s kind of a mind trip and super crazy to think about! the dialect and terms that were used were a little bit hard to understand at times, hence why i only gave it 4 stars, but overall it really was amazing!

lima_bean_ninja's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0

a book about love and grief and the hope that things can change.

sajo's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

michi's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

envy4's review against another edition

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5.0

I read this book as a middle school student and i honestly belive it taught me how to think for myself. THe characters were amazing.

aangell's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

5.0

reesetotle's review against another edition

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5.0

It did not disappoint.

sashiko's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

5.0

kulera's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Super mysterious and well-paced. Jonas is as close to a universally relatable YA character as is possible. The ending was a bit too drawn out to end so abruptly, but otherwise it’s clear why this is a classic. 
*edit: about two minutes after I posted the above, I came across another review that said that this was an anti-communist critique — I was pretty floored by that. If it is anti-communist critique it is a severely propagandized view of communist society. When I looked up the author’s political views online nothing really came up to confirm that it was intended as anti-communist critique. But I did see that conservatives love this book, probably because they hyper-fixate on the book’s celebration of individual choice.

The part that the above viewpoint seems to miss is the importance of painful memory, fear, and uncertainty. The society represented in the book is the result of people trying to avoid difficult decisions that might lead to regrets in their lives. They want perfect and predictable outcomes. They eliminate any memory of the past that might be painful. They eliminate sexuality because it has the potential to result in heartbreak. I read this book as less of a structural critique and more of an emotional parable.